Facial recognition

Viisage Technology Inc., Littleton, Mass., is seeing increased use of its facial recognition products by state motor vehicle administrations, according to Bernard Bailey, CEO of Viisage.

Since driver's licenses are becoming harder to forge, criminals are increasingly applying for licenses with stolen birth certificates or Social Security numbers, Bailey said. States are using facial recognition software to crack down on fraudulent applications.

Viisage's technology can check the photo taken for a new driver's license against a photo database of all that state's license holders, flagging any faces identical to the applicant's.

Bailey said that six states have incorporated facial recognition software into the Viisage identification card makers they purchased in 2002.